Written By: Prerna Mittra | Published : January 20, 2025 2:00 PM IST
She was born on June 8, 1908 in Sao Francisco de Assis in Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul. Interestingly, back then, no one believed Lucas would survive and go on to become an adult, because she was too 'skinny'.
Guinness World Records: Following the death of Japan's Tomiko Itooka in December 2024, Inah Canabarro Lucas, a nun from Brazil, has now officially become the oldest living person in the world at the age of 116 years, the guinnessworldrecords.com reports. She has also gained the title of being the world's oldest living woman. The death of Itooka was confirmed earlier this month; she died in a nursing home in Hy go Prefecture's Ashiya on the night of December 29, 2024. After this, Lucas stepped in to claim the aforementioned titles and make history. According to Guinness, Lucas is also currently the oldest nun in the world. Read on to know more about her life.
She was born on June 8, 1908 in Sao Francisco de Assis in Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul. Interestingly, back then, no one believed Lucas would survive and go on to become an adult, because she was too 'skinny'. When she was 16 years old, she turned to religion. The official Guinness website mentions that Lucas studied at the Santa Teresa de Jesus boarding school in Santana do Livramento. Later, she moved to Montevideo, Uruguay, and took her vows to become a nun -- the date was July 27, 1934. When she returned to Brazil, she started teaching Portuguese and mathematics at a school in Rio de Janeiro.
In 2018, when she turned 110, Lucas received a blessing from Pope Francis, who honoured her on her birthday. During her teaching days that went on for several decades, the nun travelled to various locations. In fact, she is the second oldest nun to ever be documented. Before her, it was one Lucile Randon, or Sister Andr . She held the title of being the oldest person in the world until her death at the age of 118.
Interestingly, Lucas is believed to be the last living person born in the year 1908! She survived both the World Wars and lived through many disasters. She is also one of only three surviving people who were born in the 1900s.
